CLAUDE AKINS - FIRST DAY COVER SIGNED - HFSID 13345

CLAUDE AKINS
He signs this first day cover honoring the 1979 Christmas stamp
First Day Cover signed: "Claude Akins" in black ink, 6½x3½. First Day Cover for the 1979 Christmas stamp. Postmarked North Pole, Alaska, October 18, 1979. 15¢ stamp affixed, FIRST DAY OF ISSUE. A versatile character actor, Claude Akins (1918-1994) made a great villain, but could also adeptly occupy both sympathetic and comic roles. He began his stage career at age 5, continued with drama in high school, and joined acting stock companies while studying at Northwestern University. After serving in the Army Signal Corps during WWII, he landed a role on Broadway with Eli Wallach and Maureen Stapleton in The Rose Tattoo in 1951. He made his first film appearance in The Caine Mutiny (1954), following up this role with dozens more in movies such as Rio Bravo (1959), Inherit the Wind (1960), The Devil's Brigade (1968), The Night Stalker (1972), and Manhunt for Claude Dallas (1986). Featured in films for nearly 40 years, he also appeared frequently on TV, his jobs including the title role of Texas sheriff Lobo (1979-1981), as well as guest-starring appearances on Westerns such as Wagon Train sporadically from 1957 to 1961, The Big Valley in 1965, Gunsmoke sporadically from 1955 to 1972, and The Rifleman in 1958 and 1960. He also had guest spots on dramas such as The Twilight Zone in 1960 and 1962, and The Untouchables in 1960, 1962, and 1963. Lightly creased. Otherwise, fine condition.